2-The uprising of 'A'ishah to avenge 'Uthman's blood had the...

2-The uprising of 'A'ishah to avenge 'Uthman's blood had the result that Mu'awiyah made the caliphate hereditary in his house of Umayyads, which was also the house of the assassinated caliph, so that its transfer to another house became impossible. 3-The unpleasant consequences of the battle of al-Jamal did not end with the end of the battle of Siffin. These two battles joined together to produce a third battle called the battle of an-Nahrawan, in which again a number of Muslims were killed.

The first two battles left bad impressions in the minds of shortsighted and cynical people, so that they were constantly in a state of anxiety, doubt and indecision, and regarded one another with suspicion and enmity. They excom- municated most of the Muslims and considered killing them permissible.

They resorted to brigandage and deprived the Muslims of security and tranquility, and started many clashes and conflicts, the scope of which lasted until the time of the Abbasid caliphs, and cost many Muslims their lives. Thus it is clear that the battle of al-Jamal was not confined to the events which took place in the limited zone of Basra and ended within a brief period.

It continued to exist and was dragged on to many parts of the Islamic realm and involved a large number of Muslims, and lasted very long amongst them under various names other than the battle of al-Jamal. The rise of intellectual differences Despite all that bloodshed 'A'ishah will continue to enjoy our respect, but her account is with God.

War and bloodshed usually leave behind all kinds of differences of ideology and reaction amongst a nation and society; for, actual practical differences naturally produce intellectual and ideological differences. The battles of al-Jamal, Siffin and Nahrawan were no exception to this natural rule, and each of them produced in its turn a number of harmful effects in the mind and spirit of the Muslims and caused wide divisions and intense ideological differences.

From the point of view of belief, and thought, after these wars the people were divided into three groups: A number supported 'Ali and formed the Alawite group.150 Another group supported 'Uthman and formed the 'Uthman party, A third group excommunicated the other two groups, while another number stood aloof and called themselves neutrals. In this way each group formed a party having a particular name for which it became known.